BUCKLAND — Mohawk Trail Regional School discussed its plans to spend a state grant of $150,000 this month, announcing a new health class and some combined courses set to start this fall.
The grant, called “MassIDEAS,” was given to five public institutions in the state including Mohawk Trail, Principal Marisa Mendonsa said at last week’s School Committee meeting. The money was awarded to institutions seeking to “rethink school,” according to the MassIDEAS website.
In its grant application, Mohawk Trail described a series of chronic issues it hopes to fix using the funding. According to the school’s application, 19 percent of students did not graduate on time. Meanwhile, about one in five high school students were chronically absent, and about 6.5 percent of students left the school entirely.
According to the school’s application, students “do not feel connected, nor feel supported, at school and are seeking a more engaging and exciting curriculum.”
The school attributed its problems in part to the pressure of standardized testing as well as rising mental health needs among students. The school wrote that it has placed “Band-Aids” on issues that require more careful consideration.
“We have reached a pivotal moment in our school’s history, and we are ready to remove the stigma that rural schools are and always will be lagging behind their suburban and urban counterparts,” the application wrote.
Mohawk has created a health course to be offered this fall, Mendonsa said. The school does not currently offer health classes. Instead, a few health units are taught within the physical education course, she said.
The health course includes “traditional topics,” Mendonsa said, including sex education, vaping, drugs, alcohol, healthy choices and more. The course will also offer mental health instruction to help teens deal with anxiety, stress and taking care of themselves, she said.
The school will also offer some courses that will combine two subject areas into one, with two teachers in the classroom instructing students. The first interdisciplinary course is “bioethics,” which is a mix of science and English. The second course is “Integrated Arts 9,” a combination of art and English, which has been taught before, Mendonsa said.
Also, the Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History teacher and AP Language and Composition instructor are collaborating, so students will look at history topics covered using literature they are reading in the accompanying course. This course will not be co-taught, Mendonsa said.
According to Mendonsa, having two teachers in the classroom “benefits everyone” because students have more individual attention. Also, teachers can collaborate and brainstorm with a colleague, supporting each other with planning lessons and grading assessments.
In addition to new courses, the school has raised the idea of requiring students to complete a “capstone project” in their senior year. The school also plans to implement a new common framework called “MyWays” for students in grades seven to 12 to follow as part of the grant. The framework is an extensive list of 20 goals encompassing creative and academic success, among other metrics.
Long-term, Mohawk Trail’s administrators are considering offering students credit for internships or work-study programs.
Mendonsa said she wants to hear the community’s ideas as the use of the MassIDEAs grant funding is being planned. The school held a community meeting June 5 to discuss its plans so far, and intends to have more in the fall. Also, the school plans to convene three working groups with community members.
“Our goal is to include our community throughout this process,” Mendonsa said.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.